Be Excellent To Each Other

FREE NOVEL: in the Bradford Arts Commune spirit of offering free music and art, I am offering my unpublished novel, 'Wild Thing' free to anyone who wants to recieve it by email attchment. It is a fully finished novel, written after my novel 'Billie Morgan' which was shortlisted for The Orange Prize for Literature. I am a multi-nominated, award-winning novelist & poet, as many of you know, but no publisher will publish this novel or indeed, any of my work, poetry or prose, despite saying the following:

'Wild Thing: The best material we have read all year . . '
Canogate..

'I do admire Joolz's writing. She's ballsy, and original . . . it makes for an exciting and strange read. I found this compelling . . . Joolz is completely convincing. Joolz is a sharp and cynical commentator on modern life . . .' Bloomsbury Books.

'I have to admire Joolz's energy, I actually really did like the way she took the story to Bradford, which I thought came alive wonderfully on the page.' Headline Books.

'WILD THING MADE MY HEART SING. I read 6,000 manuscripts a year and this one lifted off the page and made me sit bolt upright - it has a gutsy attention-seeking passion about it and will bring Joolz to the huge audience she deserves.'
Simon Trewin, literary agent, London.

'I have now read them (Chapters 1-3) and have been reminded about how well you write - these pages are extremely powerful . . .'
Jane Gregory, literary agent, Gregory & Company, London.

'I did enjoy it enormously – the writing is fluid and accomplished.' Random House.

They will not publish the novel as it is not 'in a genre' & they fear therefore they cannot market it easily by saying 'just like Dan Brown' or 'better than Thomas Harris or your money back'. They suggested I write a genre crime thriller instead. They think the book is too 'harsh' for 'the modern reader'. I think that's complete bollocks & I will write what I want: old Punks never do as they're told.... . Also, I think it's deeply insulting to readers who they treat as semi-imbeciles incapable of reading anything other than the most crass material possible that has been mass-marketed to them like detergent.

But - if I have 'that attitude', I must 'take the consequences' - no-one will publish me. I am too 'difficult' & literary festivals feel I would not 'fit in' at their events (old woman covered in tattoos from the North - scary). All quotes are things that have been said to me, by the way, along with much worse.

So be it. I therefore offer this harsh, unmarketable novel FREE - by email attachment only - to anyone who wants to read it. Also, I would ask whoever gets it to pass it on & ask those whom they send it to to pass it on to people they think might like to read it and so on and so on - a kind of benign literary virus. However, if you don't like it & think all your friends would not be interested, that's also fine, just delete it.

Some reviews of my writing:

'Stunningly original, this is amphetamine fiction – crazy, fast and addictive'.
Kirkus Reviews USA

'But what makes Denby's novel is the earthiness of the characters, the joyful exuberance of the language and the raw authenticity of the emotions expressed. The language veers playfully from elegiac to edgy, from Morte d' Arthur to pure Bradford, without ever losing its original voice - this writer is both poet and graphic artist, and it shows.'
Joanne Harris.

'Joolz Denby is a cool, unaffected author who remains candid and original despite gaining notable critical success. . . These days writing is about being cutting edge and original, and Joolz Denby is certainly that. '
Leeds Student.

'Joolz Denby is a fine and, I think, an important writer who invests ordinary lives with the moral stature they deserve.'
John Williams.

‘Joolz . . . a woman of great strength and conviction, of compassion and heart. She’s a gem.’
Billy Bragg

'Joolz Denby as one of the most talented and humane novelists that we have. . .' John Connolly.

'Joolz Denby has a rare ability in contemporary British crime fiction: she takes you inside the damaged hearts and heads of her characters, shows you hope and despair are often the same thing, makes you care about them.'
Martyn Waites.

'Denby's skill as a storyteller is simply wonderful'.
Rambles.

Of 'Wild Thing':

'The most original, insightful, passionate and brilliant book I have read this year is Wild Thing by Joolz Denby. But unbelievably, despite the fact that Denby was only recently nominated for the Orange Prize, not to mention her long and inspirational career as a performance poet/writer/graphic designer/all-round wise woman, this is a book without a publisher. Go to http://www.myspace.com/wildthingjoolzdenby read an extract and tell me that you are not slavering for more. Then ask yourself, why do publishers think that we don’t want to read this?' Cathi Unsworth for NUDE Magazine.

'I loved it. Really. It's fantastically written and the ending just blew me away! I loved the way that I never really knew what was reality and what (if any) was delusional (it reminded me of American Psycho in that respect) and I loved the
constant reminder that every story has many different perspectives, shades of grey. I suppose in some respects I can see why it's not being published. It's focussing on a part of life that, sadly, most of the populace like to pretend doesn't exist, but honestly I think if some publisher took a chance on it and marketed it right the outcome could be rather marvellous!' Rachel, reader.

To get 'Wild Thing' email [email protected]

I make no apologies for typos in the manuscript. Also, if you wish to write a review, that would be great, please post it as an addendum to this Note.


PS: OK, a fair number of folks have now messaged me saying they're personally uncomfortable not paying for the book: So, OK, if you really want to make a donation (NOT obligatory in ANY way: it's all entirely 100% voluntary, just give whatever you like, if you feel better doing that) my PayPal is Julianne Denby [email protected] OR just donate something to your favorite children's charity. Thank you all for your interest in my work, it makes it all worthwhile.